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33rd Historic Winton - Triumph Herald Print E-mail
Monday, 04 May 2009
 


HARK THE HERALD TRIUMPH

1959 was a rather busy year in the British motoring world, seeing the launch of the Morris Mini, the Ford Anglia and the Triumph Herald; the quirkiest being the Triumph Herald with its sleek modern styling and many new mechanical adaptions.  Its arrival as the replacement for the quite staid and austere-looking Standard 10 was somewhat of a revolution and it bore instant eye appeal to potential buyers.  That appeal still works in today's modern age of automotive design.

In most other aspects, the Herald was somewhat disappointing, being originally underpowered with questionable handling, and technologically outdated from birth.

 The first Herald went on sale as a coupe, which has become very rare and most sought-after.  Over 100,000 Triumph Heralds were produced, and the fact that they have survived in such great numbers is a testament to the styling genius of Giovanni Michelotti, who penned the sensational original Herald coupe design.

With a separate chassis, 948cc engine, four speed gear box, four wheel independent suspension, 25 foot turning circle, a huge swing-forward bonnet and a variety of body styles - coupe, saloon, convertible,  estate and courier vans - the Herald offered a lot more choice than competitors.  As early as 1957, there were plans to use the chassis for a sports car and, as if by magic, came the Spitfire, Vittesse and GT6.  A lot of kit cars to this day still use the Herald chassis.

The project was given the go-ahead in August 1957, and the final proving run was a gruelling expedition across the Sahara desert from Cape Town to Tangiers in the autumn of 1958.  The Herald was finally launched in April 1959 and sales took off at a good rate.

By November 1959, production was up to 1,400 cars a week.  The first convertible arrived in 1960 with the 948cc engine, and a few weeks later the 1200cc Estate arrived on the scene.  The whole ran. ge was soon given the more powerful engine and a name change to the Herald 1200.

In the autumn of 1961, front disc brakes were added as an optional extra, but demand was falling and the original coupe was dropped from production. The 12/50 had been introduced in 1963 with disc brakes, a vinyl folding sunroof and an increase in power from 39hp to 51hp.  The final model of the Herald, the 13/60 with 1296 engine died in September 1971.

There is a large display of original Triumph Herald vehicles plus direct derivatives in the form of Triumph Spitfire, Triumph Vittesse and Triumph GT6 in Shannons Classic Car Park at 2009 Historic Winton.
 
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